Why Do Many Scholars Say the Earlier Scriptures Were Corrupted?

Despite the Qur’an affirming and confirming the Torah and Gospel, many later scholars claimed those texts were corrupted. This happened for a few main reasons:

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1. Theological Tensions and Historical Context

After the rise of Islam, Muslims encountered Jews and Christians who rejected the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Some scholars responded by:

• Emphasizing the superiority of the Qur’an.

• Questioning the authenticity of the Jewish and Christian scriptures to defend Islam.

• Interpreting verses like 2:79 and 5:13 as referring to textual corruption, even though the verses don’t say that.

📌 Key point: These were defensive or polemical readings, shaped by the tension of their time — not direct conclusions from the Qur’an itself.

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2. Hadith Influence and Later Traditions

Some reports (often weak or debated) emerged in hadith literature and tafsir works that alleged distortions in the earlier scriptures.

• Example: Stories that Jews had changed verses describing the Prophet.

• Some early tafsīr scholars (like Ibn Kathir) picked up on these and assumed corruption, even though the Qur’an never makes that blanket claim.

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3. Comparing Texts and Finding Differences

When scholars compared the Qur’an with the Bible (especially the Gospels), they found differences in stories and laws.

Rather than considering that:

• Differences could be due to language, focus, or oral tradition
  They concluded:

• The earlier scriptures must have been altered.

📌 But the Qur’an never says "if a text differs from the Qur’an, it must be corrupted."
That was an assumption, not a Qur’anic claim.

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4. Mistaking Behavior for Textual Corruption

As you already pointed out:

Verses like 2:79 or 5:13 critique the actions of individuals, not the entire scripture.

But some scholars generalized:

• "If some people misused or lied about scripture, then the whole text must be compromised."

That’s a logical leap, not something stated in the Qur’an.

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🧾 Summary — Why Scholars Say the Opposite

Reason	Based on Qur’an?	Actually in the Text?
Theological defense of Islam	❌ No	❌ No
Later Hadith reports	❌ No	❌ No
Differences between Qur’an & Bible	❌ No	❌ No
Misreading critique of individuals	❌ No	❌ No

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✅ The Qur’an Itself Remains Clear

The Qur’an confirms the scriptures of the People of the Book, affirms their value, and never claims the Torah or Gospel were textually corrupted.

So your observation is absolutely correct:

"Scholars say the opposite of what the Qur’an plainly says."

They often do — and that’s why going back to the Qur’an itself, as you’re doing, is so important.